Hmm. I don’t think anyone’s talking about banning anything but you, Loch, nor about disallowing anyone’s response to the song. Maybe you’d like to start a new thread?
You’re right that it’s not Cafe Society but it gets irksome when certain celebrities (e.g. the Dixie Chicks) actually seem offended the people don’t agree with them and have the temerity to protest/boycott. George Clooney suffers from this sort of egotism as well.
:smack: Yes, of course, a horrific oversight from my list. I also certainly intended to include the Dixie Chicks. And Beth Nielsen Chapman, who’s songs are often covered by country artists, though her performances are more pop. And Cheryl Wheeler. And Juice Newton.
Guilty as charged. Can I pay my fine on a payment plan?
I don’t think any of that has happened here.
But not from mine; I’d already mentioned him. 
OK, well, first, as lissener pointed out, no one’s talking about banning anything but you. Secondly, about 60% of what you’ve said here makes pretty much no sense as a response to my post. No one’s said anything about anyone’s not having the right to protest. But if you see refusing to play Willie Nelson songs because he sings a song about the existence of gay cowboys as the moral equivalent of refusing to play music by bands who actively denigrate gay people, that’s just messed up.
No, it isn’t. If someone is small minded enough to boycott Nelson and/or his song then that’s a legitimate form of protest. That’s what I was focusing on. Indeed, I’m not too sure it makes sense to ban songs that denigrate a group. Sometimes it is better to get these things out in the open.
Regardless, this isn’t the time or the place.
Who has said it isn’t a legitimate form of protest?
Mostly because of Lissner’s first comment about the bigot’s boycotts (it was in the OP’s first comment). Just wanted to be sure that we all still respected a little dissent no matter how ridiculous the position.
When did they act “offended” by anything?
Cite?
If people are boycotting Willie Nelson because he sang about gay cowboys, then they are indeed bigots. What’s your problem with that statement?
Question that’s not about bigotry! I don’t have iTunes on my computer, and I have a non-iPod mp3 player on which I store all of my music like an external hard drive. Can I put this song onto Windows Media Player and then transfer it onto my player? I’ve never bought a song off iTunes before but I’m a moderate Pansy Division and Willie Nelson fan and I just have to hear this. If not I guess I’ll just download it from anywhere and mail Willie the 99c.
I’m pretty sure that WMP won’t play songs in iTune’s format, but I think you can use iTunes to save a file in a standard MP3 format, which should work in any sort of player. I’m not at home to test this and see if I’m right, though.
The Dixie Chicks made it sound like they were under seige from unreasonable fanatics. No, you were under seige from people who disagreed with you and who exercised their own right to free speech and either ignore or boycotted you.
Mr. Clooney living in terror in the US.
Who have every right in the world to protest and boycott Nelson. Also, calling someone a bigot is a little over the top. What about the Christian who tries to love everyone but whose Bible tells him homosexuality is a sin? You’re being very judgmental just to dismiss him and call him a bigot. That’s how things like this get polarized.
Misguided? IMHO they certainly are but don’t be too quick to marginalize everyone who doesn’t agree with you.
Well they were but I don’t remember them saying it out loud.
How about a cite for your assertion that they were “offended?” Did they ever say that people didn’t have a RIGHT to boycott or protest?
Mr. Clooney living in terror in the US.
[/QUOTE]
I can’t see anything in the article where Clooney says any such thing. He does have some interesting quotes, though, like this bit on how he reacted to a protest:
And how about this?
It sounds like he agrees with you all the way. Did you actually read the article?
Read it several times. He notes all the things that happened to him, chances are none that directly affects him or his way of life, but then throws in the last line as an almost afterthought as it to justify his previous rant.
And no, people who boycotted the Dixie Chicks weren’t all unreasonable fanatics (but nice of you to paint them all with such a broad stroke, very open-minded and tolerant of you) but people who happened to disagree with them. The Dixie Chicks then made an effort to ,artyr themselves in the press (do you recall their cover of Entertainment) all while playing it up in Europe just how persecuted they were in the US.
Again, freedom of speech goes both ways and you have to take responsibility for your actions.
What rant? I didn’t see any rant.
Did he say anything that wasn’t true? Did he say that anyone didn’t have a right to protest? Did he whine or complain about any of it? It sounds to me like was flat out stating that he understands the backlash is part of life and part of free speech.
I think the reaction to the Dixie Chicks was completely idiotic and irrational. That’s not to say they didn’t have every legal right to react that way but I have no obligation to think they weren’t behaving like babies.
Cite fir them saying they were “persecuted in the US?”
Who has said otherwise? Certainly not George Clooney or the Dixie Chicks and certainly nobody in this thread.
Again, where has anyone in this thread said differently?
It’s not when they are, in fact, a bigot.
What about him? We’re talking about people who would (hypothetically) boycott a singer because he urged compassion and respect for homosexuals. That action is incompatible with the sort of Christian you have just described.
It’s already polarized, and it’s been polarized by people who insist that homosexuality be ignored, scorned, discriminated against, and even criminalized. The people urging this are not marginalized in the least, but rather, include prominent congressmen, influential religious leaders, and the President of the United States. As George Clooney said, freedom of speech cuts both ways, and if you are going to promote a bigoted agenda, you’re going to have to live with being called a bigot.
Uh, yeah, that’s it that Nickel group, the country one. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
(blush)